(TibetanReview.net, Mar24, 2014) – The seventh session of the 15th Tibetan Parliament Exile was held from Mar 11 to 22 with the main agenda of debating and adopting the annual budget of the exile Tibetan Administration at Dharamsala. The parliament passed an Indian Rupees 189,26,55,572 (about US$31.5 million) budget for the financial year Apr 2014-Mar 2015.

Speaker Penpa Tsering expressed hope in his concluding speech that the exile administration headed by the Sikyong Lobsang Sangay will achieve a breakthrough in establishing a dialogue with the government of China for the resolution of the Tibet issue.

The parliament also observed a minute’s silence for Lobsang Palden, a 23-year-old monk of Kirti Monastery in Ngaba County, eastern Tibet, who had carried out there a self-immolation protest against Chinese rule on Mar 16, 2014. Another monk of unknown details in another part of eastern Tibet also staged a self-immolation protest on the same day, bringing to 129 the number of such known protests in occupied Tibet since Feb 2009.

During the session one of the MPs for the Tibetans in Europe, Ms Chungak Koren from Norway, resigned her seat, citing health reasons. She will be replaced by Mr Wangpo Tethong from Switzerland as the candidate who had won the most number of votes after her during the last general election. Also, by the next session in Sep 2014, Domey province will have elected an MP to replace Ms Kirti Dolkar Lhamo who had also resigned her seat some while back.